Sectional rail.



No. 733,692. PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.-

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UNTTED STATES Patented July 14, 1903.

MORRIS F. BELL, OF FULTON, MISSOURI.

SECTIONAL RAIL.

EPECIFISATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 33,692, dated July 14, 1903.

Application filed November '7, 1902. Serial No. 130,436. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORRIS F. BELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fulton, Oallaway county, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sectional Rails, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 2 is a broken plan view, and Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the two webs and the elongated bolt-hole through one of them.

This invention relates to improvements in sectional railway-rails, and it consists in certain features of novelty in the detail formation thereof, alias hereinafter more particularly described, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the manufacture of this class of rails it is essential that the members thereof shall be so formed as to be readily produced by roll ing machinery and when finished shall be capable of conjoint use in practical railroadbuilding in such manner that free open joints shall be entirely avoided wherever desirable, whereby there is presented to the tread of the car-wheels a substantially continuous unbroken track-surface, thereby avoiding all pounding and splintering of the rails at the meeting ends, and the consequent injury to rolling-stock passing over the same. In addition thereto an added advantage is secured through the use of my rail, whereby in the interior of the structure produced thereby may be carried, when desired, a feed-Wire for conveying electricity for any desired purpose.

Referring to the drawings, A A are the baseflanges; B B, the web portions; 0 D, the ball portions of the rail, and E E the tread-surfaces.

In my improved rail there is provided upon the ball-section O a tongue 1 which is intogral with said ball-section. Said tongue rises in an oblique line therefrom, so as to fit into and substantially fill a correspondinglyshaped channel 2, formed in the material of the companion member D, so that when the parts are united a firm support will be provided for the larger ball portion D, the weight 'upon which will be thereby distributed substantially equally upon the web portion of both. rail-sections, and to aid in such distribution the shoulder 3 of the ball-section D projects over and rides in the channel 4 of ball-section 0.

To insure a snug fit between the members 1, 2, 3, and 4, the lower portion of the railsection carrying the ball-section D is provided'with an extension 5, which has a beveled upper face 6, contacting with the inclined face 7 of the longitudinal channel 8, whereby when the parts are brought together the said contacting faces will cause the section 0 to rise or the section D to be depressed, so as to secure the close fitting of the parts essential to a firm rail, thereby producing a structure which when united by means of the bolts or rivets 9 passed through elongated bolt-hole 11 in the web B will coact in all its parts to produce a rail practically as rigid as if formed of one piece of metal, the said elongated openings permitting more or less contraction and expansion of said rail with cold and heat. The channel 8 is slightly extended beyond the end of the extension 5, whereby there is provided a channel through which may be passed an insulated feed'wire, which may be tapped at convenient intervals to supply aicurrent of electricity for any desired purpose, such feed-wire being thereby perfectly protected against injury through accidental causes. 7

One of the advantages of my improved rail which renders it very valuable in practical use is the fact that a substantially continuous rail throughout a predetermined zone may be provided by first joining together at one end rail-sections of ditferent lengths, so that the end of one section will terminate short of the end of its companion section, from which point the rails may be of equal length, Whereby a lap-joint will be provided, preferably, in the middle portion of the rails throughout the length of the track with either section overlapping the meeting ends of two meeting companion sections, thus providing for the said meeting ends a rigid support upon the companion section at such meeting ends without the aid of rail-chairs, fish-plates, or similar devices which have been found in practice to be more or less defective and substituting therefor a substantially continuous support for the rail-sections. As the section D is meant for the inner side,it is the section which will be most in need of support at the point where meeting ends thereof occur, and it is not so essential that the outer section 0 be so perfectlysupported at the meeting ends of such sections.

As will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings, the rail-sections are separable only when first spread at the bottom, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, which spreading can only occur after the securingspikes F and the bolts or rivets 9 are removed to permit of such spreading.

It will be understood that the tongue 3, which has been heretofore described as riding in the channel 4 of the ball-section C, will not quite fill said channel,or if it does so fill it it will be so proportioned with relation thereto as to permit of ready separation thereat when the rail-sections are spread apart from the bottom upwardly.

One of the great advantages of the rail herein shown is that either section thereof may be removed from its companion section while said companion section is seen red in position upon the railroad-ties, such removal permitting the renewal of any single section when desired without causing a break in the continuity of the track.

By using the rail herewith shown an added safeguard is provided to prevent derailment, for in the event of either rail-section being fractured the remaining section will still remain, and thereby effectually prevent derailment of trains passing over the same.

I am aware that minor changes in the construction and arrangement of the several parts of my rail may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is

1. In a sectional rail composed of a plurality of longitudinal members, one section of which in series forms a substantially continuous rail chair for supporting the meeting ends of its companion sections, and interlocking members on each of said sections cooperating with longitudinal channels in the companion sections to bind the several members against lateral displacement at the tread portions of saidrail, and either of said sections being movable laterally from the base, while the other section is secured in fixed position; substantially as described.

2. In a sectional rail comprising two interlocking members having longitudinal tongues on both members cooperating with corresponding oppositely-disposed channels, said tongues and channels being so arranged and at such angles to the vertical axis of the rail that the upper portion of said rail is locked against lateral displacement when the lower portion is held in place and so proportioned that the lower portion is separable laterally by movement of either section when the securing means for said lower portion is removed; substantially as described.

3. In a sectional rail comprising two interlocking members, longitudinal tongues 00- operating with corresponding oppositely-disposed channels, said tongues and channels being so arranged and at such angles to the vertical axis of the rail that the upper portion of said rail is locked against lateral displacement, when the lower portion is in place and either member, at the lower portion, is freely movable laterally, while its companion member is held in fixed position; substantially as described.

4. In a sectional rail comprising two interlocking members longitudinally movable upon each other when in position, and having oppositely-disposed tongues and channels so arranged and at such angles to the vertical axis of said rail that the tread portions thereof are thereby held against lateral separation until after the lower portions of said rail are separated, either of said sections being movable laterally from the base while the remaining member is secured in position, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-rail com posed of a plurality of interlocking sections and means at the upper portion of said rail, substantially within the ball thereof, for locking the ball-section against lateral displacement commencing at the tread and so proportioned as to permit free lateral movement of either section thereof when such lateral separation commences at the lower portion of said rail; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 5th day of November, 1902.

MORRIS F. BELL.

Witnesses:

GEORGE BAKEWELL, FREDERICK H. GIBBS. 

